Improvement in wire-barbing tools



.I. D0338, WIRE EARRING-TOOL.

Patented vOat. 17', 1876.

INVENTOR Y ATTORNEY ykWlTN IYISSES I I v fzfigm N-PETR3, FHOTOYUTHUGRAPMER. WASHINGTON. D C,

UNITED STATES PATENT Oil-Fries.

JOHN noBB-s, OF vio'ron, IOWA.

IMPROVEMENT IN 'WIR'E-BARBING TOQLS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 183,379,-dated 0ctober'17, 1876; application :filed August 24, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN DOBBS, of Viotor, in the county of Iowa and State of Iowa,

' have invented a new and valuable Improvement in Wire-Barbing Instruments; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a representation of a top view, showing the notches in line to receive the fence-wire. Fig.2 is a top view, showing the rotary head turned. Fig. 3 is a side view, showing the rotary head turned one-quarter round, with barb. This invention has relation to means fo applying U-shaped barb-blanks to fence-wires; and it consists in the construction and novel arrangement of the clamping and rotary jaws, having radial clefts or notches extending from the center outward, and corner grooves in their adjacent faces, bordering on the opposite sides of said slots, each corner groove being designed to receive a branch of the U- shaped barb, as hereinafter shown and described.

The object of this invention is to facilitate the application of U-shaped barb-blanks to fence-wires, and the ready adjustment of the barbs at any required angle with each other and with the plane of the fence.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter A designates the main lever of the instrument, carrying the rigid jaw B. This is a disk-like head, having a cleft or notch, a, ex-

tending from its upper margin radially downward to the center. On the inside of the disk one of the edges of the cleft is grooved, to receive one of the branches of the barb blank, as shown at b. This groove gradually slopes away to the inside face of the disk at the bottom of the cleft. O designates the other horizontal or compressing lever, which is pivoted to the first at d, and is bent out somewhat beyond this point, to provide a bend or recess, a, forthe reception of the rotary head or jaw F, whereby its face will be brought in the plane with the center of the pivot-pin d. At the end of the lever G is formed an expansion or hearing, g, having an upward cleft or vided with a radial cleft or notch, a, whereof that one of the inside edges which is opposite to the grooved edge b of the cleft of the rigid jaw 'is similarly; grooved, as shown at I), the groove gradually sloping away to the face of the disk at the bottom of the cleft, so that in this location the wire of the barb-blank is grasped partly by each groove, while the ends of said blank are each grasped wholly by the groove of one disk and the adjacent plane face of the other. This rotary head F is provided with a journal, is, which is seated in the hearing g, and is also radially and longitudinally cleft at Z.

G designates a crank-handle, having its enlargement m also cleft centrally outward, as shown at n. This crank-handle may be formed on the end of the journal k, but is preferably made to be attached or applied thereto.

When it is desired to use this instrument, the levers A and O are held in the horizontal position, with their notches a and h upward. At the same time the crank-handle G is allowed to drop freely, and it will fall into a position, at right angles with the levers A and O, and bring the clefts or notches a, l, and n to coincide with the notches a and h of said levers.

A U-shaped barb-blank is. now designed to be placed between the disks B and F, so that its circular portion or bend will be located in the grooves of the disks just below the centers thereof, and its barbed ends will extend up ward in the grooves b and b on each side'of the transverse cleft now formed in the upper part of the head of the instrument by all the notches or clefts referred to. The instrument with the barb, held in place by drawingthe handles of the levers A and 0 together, can now be applied to a fence-wire, the latter being received in the bottom of the general groove formed by the notches of the various parts.

By turning the crank-handle, the rotary head will carry one end of the barb-blank around the fence-wire to any desired angle; or the barb-blank may be even wrapped twice around the fence-wire. Generally, however, it is preferred to carry the rotary head halfway round,.or a little more than this, to bring the lower barb at an angle with the plane of the fence. 7

A spring, s, is usually attached to one of the levers, to press against the other, and open the jaws automatically after the barb has been fixed. Then, if the crank-handle is allowed to gravitate into its original position, the instrument may be readily removed from the wire, leaving the barb in place thereon.

of two witnesses.

JOHN DOBBS.

Witnesses:

(J. E. ARNOLD, J. M. MEHLING. 

